Finished, Day 28 days 2 hours 15 min, Jul 11, Tour Divide, Hal Russell

Evening Shade Farms Congratulates Hal Russell for completing The Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race, 28 Days, 2 hours 15 minutes.

Cyclist, Hal Russell, a 66 year old Living Legend has once again said, “No, Thanks” to the myth of age, by completing the world's hardest and longest mountain bike race, The Tour Divide.

2,745 Miles of hard rock challenge that can push one to over 11,000 feet in the sky and dip-down to where they breed hoards of mosquitoes that can be seen from a mile away.

They say heroes are made by the paths they chose, not by the powers they are graced with. Hal Russell choose his path and stayed with it for 28 Days, 2 Hours and 15 Minutes.  The power that stayed with him throughout was his ability to finish, even before he had ever started.

Evening Shade Farms, a team of organic body care product entrepreneurs and cycling enthusiasts, are extremely proud to co-sponsor Hal Russell, this gentle giant of few words...has a proven smile 

that overshadows even the most difficult times.

Evening Shade Farms, was also on The Tour with a lot more than a BUGZEE jersey...we were the THE BOMB Organic Lip Balm, which helped soothe and avoid painful irritations. 

We were the Eco-safe BUGZEE Organic Insect Repellant...that did the job that DEET couldn't...

and did it safely.

As for the seat of all cyclist problems, Evening Shade Farms has stepped-up to the plate with two glide-by hits:

First, THE BOMB LiveWire Organic Body Powder, powdered silk that absorbs the heat is a good way to describe it.

And Second, THE BOMB Organic Anti-Friction Chaffing Stick...pretty slick...second to none, like Hal Russell...our Organic Bomb.

Hal's dream ride: Vietnam once again. This time to cycle across the country on his Trek Superfly.

Day 27, July 9, Hal Russell, Tour Divide Bike Race

Hal will be going by Black Mtn, an old volcano that has been dug out for the volcanic rock and Sheep Mtn. today.

86 miles to Silver City, then 100 miles to Antelope Wells, The End of the Tour Divide Race

Hal Russell, Day 26, July 8, Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race

Hal got his piece of pie in Pie Town, NM yesterday. Today he will have a great view of the privately owned Alegres Mountain, 10,00 feet, and The Mangas Mountain, 9,600 feet, on his way, 169 miles, to Silver City, NM. Then about 80 miles to the Finish, Antelope Wells, NM, on the border of Mexico.

No Shade here!

Rain,before they arrived, has made roads muddy and makes for slow and messy going.

Hal Russell, Day 24, 6 July, Tour Divide Bicycle Race

Hal will be headed 20 miles to Torreon, NM, then 40 miles to Pueblo Pintado, NM, and South to San Rafael, finally to Pie Town for a free piece of pie, 197 miles from Cuba. Weather looks good.

Hal Russell, Downhill Leg, Tour Divide, Day 23, July 5

Evening Shade Farms Congratulates Hal Russell for just coming down from his last major, 10,000+, climb. Way to go Hal!!!

Hal is headed to Cuba, no not the Island, but Cuba, New Mexico. He is probably riding in some rain, but should run out of it before he arrives in Cuba, however, he has stopped for the night maybe.

43 miles to Cuba, then 70 miles to Torreon, NM, tomorrow.

Hal Russell, Tour Divide Race, Day 22, 4 Jul, Independence Day

Hal will ride by Broke Off Mountain

On this 4th of July, Independence Day, Hal and Jen are climbing to 10,000 and then is mostly down hill to 5,800 feet, then the last climb to 10,000 and it's pretty much all downhill from there.

Did they get to see any fireworks from up high?

We still don't know the status of Jake at the CO-NM border. He could have lost his GPS.

Tour Divide Race, Hal Russell, Day 22, Jul 3

Hal is moving quickly (15 miles) to Ponderosa Camp, CO, at 8,500 feet. From there it is uphill to Brazos Ridge at 10,600 feet, then down to Velleciros, NM, 103 miles from Ponderosa.

The New Mexico border is about 21 miles.

Update: Jake Riehle has been at the Colorado - New Mexico border for 20 hours, probably waiting for Hal to meet him. Jen Marsh has been riding near Hal and is also joining Jake. Sounds like picture time!

Tour Divide Race, Hal Russell, Day 21, July 2

 Stocking up on supplies on this unsupported ride.

Hal is charging up Cornwall mountain to his last 11,000 foot climb.

Hal is climbing Cornwall in the rain and camped out at 11,676 feet so the rain would not come down hill on him. The only worry would be lightening. Tomorrow it's downhill, yea!

Yes, he does have a 10,000 foot climb to go, but that should be easy after all the previous climbs.

Evening Shade Farms are with you all the way helping make it easier with BUGZee Organic Insect Repellent & THE BOMB Organic Lip Balm!

Hal Russell, Day 20, 1 July, Tour Divide Race

Time to grab some energy!

Hal zoomed over Mt. Ouray and is heading to Del Norte, CO.

He will be zooming up to 9,700 feet, down to 8,100, up to 9,900, down to 7,700, up to 11,400 (Cornwall Mountain), down to 8,500, up to 10,200, down to 8,7000, up to 9,100, down to 5,100, up to 10,000, and from the it is more or less downhill to the end. Sort of like a roller coaster ride.

About 7 Days to go and Hal is in there kicking it. Great going Hal!

199 miles to the New Mexico Border.

For lip protection against the wind and dry altitude, Hal carries Evening Shade Farms THE BOMB Organic Lip Balm.

Check out the other Evening Shade Farms Cyclists Organic Body Care Products

Evening Shade Farms Sponsors Hal Russell, 66 Year old Cyclist doing his 3rd 2745 mile Tour Divide Race

MOUNTAIN BIKING 66

Not Route 66...but 66 years old.

Not just any Mountain...but a Mountain Range 2,745 miles long...from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on the Mexico - U.S. border, starting June 12, 2015.

And it's a Race...and it's called, “The Tour Divide Race.”

It's what legends are made of...and his name is Hal Russell, a native of Osceola, Missouri.

With his faithful companion, a TREK, 9.6 Carbon Super-fly Mountain Bike...he will take on what mere mortals call impossible and he's about to do it for a 3rd time, in spite of an early snow fall in Colorado. He rides with the least of creature comforts (keeping his load to a bare minimum) and hopes the memory of some ancient hurts don't bother showing-up.

Aside from Hal's onboard generator, which keeps his bicycle lights going and his GPS honest, Hal doesn't leave home without Evening Shade Farms BUGZEE Natural and Organic Insect Repellent. It sounds strange, but you must be prepared (without poisoning yourself with DEET 40) to do battle with swarms of annoying little critters you are guaranteed to meet on the trail and... BUGZEE...has proven itself and earned a spot to take a ride on The Tour Divide Race. Hal also takes the Evening Shade Farms THE BOMB Lip Balm to protect his lips from the trip's harsh conditions.

Just make it more interesting, The Tour Divide Race is unsupported and unsanctioned...You just do it because it's there. The Tour Divide Race is the longest unsupported off-pavement ride in the World. To read more about it and follow his progress, go to www.tourdivide.org.